Dayton NAACP Supports Tougher Penalties for People Fleeing Police

A deadly police pursuit earlier this week has prompted Dayton, Ohio’s, NAACP Unit to push state lawmakers to draft legislation that stiffens criminal charges against people whose decision to flee from law enforcement ends in a fatality.

Dayton Unit NAACP President Dr. Derrick Foward said the organization wants lawmakers to use the “full weight of the law. You need to make sure you’re doing everything to hold this young lady accountable” for what happened to Colby Ross, 35, who was killed Monday in a collision on U.S. 35 in Jefferson Township. that occurred at the end of a police pursuit, WHIO reports.

The young lady Foward was referring to is Melissa Hutchins, 50, of Dayton. She was driving and refused to stop after driving off from Butler Township police in a construction zone on I-75, then sped away a second time when Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies saw her three hours later, authorities say.

Hutchins lost control of the SUV she was driving, but continued through a red light. That’s where she hit Ross’s convertible, causing a collision that forced him into a pickup truck, officers report.

Ross was ejected and died of his injuries.

“We’re going to work with our legislators to come up with the legislation to deal with the individuals who cause death through the fleeing process,” he said, noting the Dayton Unit also is working on its own task force to monitor internal investigative reports law enforcement agencies write up after every pursuit.